Japan's Duty-Free System Switches to "Pay First, Refund Later" Starting November 2026: What Changes for Korean Travelers
Starting November 1, 2026, the way payment works for duty-free shopping in Japan is changing entirely. Until now, at "general type" duty-free stores such as Don Quijote, drugstores, and electronics retailers, showing your passport let you pay at the register with the 10% consumption tax already deducted. This "instant tax exemption at the register" will be abolished entirely, and all duty-free stores will be unified under a "refund" method: customers first pay the full tax-included price, and only after export of the goods is confirmed at the airport or port upon departure will the equivalent consumption tax amount be refunded. For Korean travelers, two things change the most. While shopping, the full listed price is charged to your card or in cash with no discount applied, and on the day of departure, you must complete a customs verification procedure at an airport kiosk before checking your baggage in order to receive the duty-free benefit.
What's being eliminated and what it's being unified into
Japan's duty-free store system has until now been split into two types: the "general type" (Don Quijote and most drugstores and electronics retailers), where showing your passport at the register lets you pay the tax-deducted amount on the spot, and the "procedure-outsourced type" (some department stores and shopping malls), where you pay full price first and then get the tax refunded at a separate refund counter inside the store. The revision taking effect on November 1, 2026 (the Reiwa 7 tax reform) eliminates this distinction and unifies all duty-free stores under a single method. At the point of sale, every store will charge the tax-included price, and the consumption tax refund will happen only after customs verification at the airport or port upon departure.
| Category | Through October 2026 (current) | From November 1, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Point of payment | General type: tax-deducted amount paid immediately | All stores: full tax-included price paid |
| Point and place of refund | General type: immediate at payment; procedure-outsourced type: refund counter in store | After verification at the duty-free procedure kiosk at the airport or port upon departure |
| Legal basis | Current export goods retailer system | Export goods retailer system revised to a refund method |
The procedure Korean travelers must go through on departure day
To receive the duty-free benefit, you must depart within 90 days of the purchase date, and on the day of departure you must present your passport at a duty-free procedure kiosk installed at the airport or port to complete customs verification. The kiosk screen will indicate whether inspection is required, and if it determines inspection is not needed, the verification process ends immediately.
- This procedure must be completed before checking your baggage at the airline check-in counter.
- If you pack duty-free items into checked baggage beforehand, leave out part of the items included in the same purchase record, or arrive at the airport too late to complete the verification process, you may not receive the consumption tax refund.
- You can choose to receive the refund by card, bank account, or cash. Airports such as Narita and Kansai International Airport have on-site refund offices where you can receive the refund immediately in Japanese yen cash. For card or account refunds, the time it takes to be reflected varies by operator and payment service.
Amount conditions: the 500,000 yen cap on consumables and special packaging requirement are being eliminated
Under the current system, duty-free eligible goods are divided into "general goods" (electronics, clothing, etc., pre-tax 5,000 yen or more, no special packaging required) and "consumables" (cosmetics, food, medicine, etc., pre-tax 5,000 to 500,000 yen, special tamper-evident packaging required that becomes invalid once opened). From November 1, 2026, this distinction, the 500,000 yen cap on consumables, and the special packaging requirement will all be eliminated, and any purchase of 5,000 yen or more pre-tax at the same store on the same day will qualify for duty-free treatment regardless of item category. In other words, you can buy large quantities of expensive cosmetics or health foods without worrying about an amount cap, and opening the packaging to use items during your trip is no longer a problem for the sales procedure. However, the principle that if you've consumed the item before departure and nothing remains, export cannot be confirmed at the airport and the refund may be denied remains unchanged.
How to reset your shopping budget and airport schedule
Until now, at Don Quijote and drugstores, the amount charged at the register was already the tax-deducted amount. From November 2026, the payment receipt will show the full tax-included price with no discount applied. If you don't leave enough room on your card limit or the amount of currency you've exchanged, payment could be blocked on the spot, so you should calculate your budget based on the total at listed prices.
- Since duty-free items must go through verification at the airport duty-free procedure kiosk before being checked as baggage, allow extra time for this step when planning your arrival time at the airport on departure day.
- Since items become ineligible for duty-free treatment 90 days after the purchase date, if you plan to visit Japan multiple times and export items purchased across those visits all at once, keep a separate record of each purchase date.
- If you want an immediate cash refund, using an airport with an on-site refund office, such as Narita or Kansai, will be faster than a card or account refund.
Reference: National Tax Agency: Revision of the Export Goods Retailer System to the Refund Method
Reference: National Tax Agency: Refund Method Overview Q&A (PDF)
Reference: Japan Tourism Agency: Preparation Materials for Duty-Free Stores on the System Reform (PDF)